| Sports |
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| Graham Ford to
replace Bayliss - Asian neighbours in an emergency World Cup meeting |
| By S.R. Pathiravithana |
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| Graham Xavier Ford. |
It all points to a change in the cricket management after the current Sri Lanka Cricket tour of Pakistan.
Little-heard-of Australian cricket coach Trevor Bayliss, who was a surprise selection to take up the Lankan challenge, in all probabilities, will go back even before his contract ends.
The most likely candidate to get the nod of the SLC hierarchy is 49-year-old South African first class cricketer turned cricket Coach Graham Xavier Ford. A right handed batsman, Ford played seven games for Natal B despite playing his last game seven years after his debut in 1982/83. An all-round sportsman, Ford was also a former provincial tennis champion and has represented Natal at football. Ford is also a qualified rugby union referee.
In 1992 he became coach of Natal where he had the services of players in the calibre of Malcolm Marshall, Clive Rice, Shaun Pollock, Jonty Rhodes and Lance Klusener. He led the province to victory in both the first class and one day trophies in 1996-97. Subsequently he was appointed as the coach of the South African team.
Ford became director of cricket at Kent in 2005. In 2006 he returned to South Africa to coach the Dolphins but left the role the same year for personal reasons.
On June 9, 2007, he was offered the position of coach of the Indian cricket team, but two days later he declined the offer.
The other names that have come up for discussion on the coaching stint are – former Lankan Coach Tom Moody and Greg Chappell.
Meanwhile, SLC CEO Duleep Mendis left for New Delhi last night to attend an emergency meeting of the 2011 World Cup Central Organising Committee. The meeting will be held in Delhi on February 19.
According to reports, top officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will attend this meeting. The four South Asian neighbours are scheduled to host the 2011 World Cup.
With the latest political developments in the sub-continent, especially diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan, the fate of the quadrennial spectacle is in the balance.
However the main agenda of the meeting will be to seek ways to devise a plan to ensure that the world’s biggest cricketing spectacle will remain in the sub-continent. The ICC has kept Australia and New Zealand as standby venues for the 2011 World Cup.
So far, the South Asian neighbours hosting the World Cup are yet to begin preparations for the successful hosting of the tournament. However, it is expected that preparations will begin at full throttle following the Feb 19 meeting in the Indian capital.Mendis will be assisted by World Cup Committee member Lalith Wickremasinghe and lawyer Navin Marapona in his capacity as the advisor to the Minister of Sports Gamini Lokuge. |
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